Monitors for Office and Business Uses – a Look at MSI’s PRO and Modern Series

Disclaimer: this article includes sponsored promotion, but all content, opinions and commentary are our own.

Introduction

Over the last year or so we’ve written about and reviewed many of MSI’s gaming monitors, highlighted by their ever-expanding QD-OLED line-up. But MSI don’t only offer gaming monitors, they also have an extensive range of monitors aimed at more general, office and professional use. Not everyone wants or needs a top-end gaming screen or an OLED panel, many users are looking for something that is more affordable and more suited to general applications and uses. We wanted to compile a round-up of their ‘PRO’ and ‘Modern’ ranges, helping to highlight some of the key features and specs on offer from these screens, and provide more information on some of their main models on offer.

Key Features

The MSI Modern and Pro series of monitors include a range of features aimed at more general uses, office applications, user comfort and professional uses. Some of the key features promoted for many of these screens are:

EyesErgo Tech

MSI EyesErgo Tech promotes eye health and comfort, enhancing user well-being. This includes a combination of Eye Care features and ergonomic stand design, including TUV Certified anti-flicker backlights without the need for PWM dimming, anti-glare(AG) panel coatings to help reduce reflections and glare from external light sources, and a low blue light function for more comfortable long-term viewing.

Eye-Q Check

The Eye-Q Check system includes a few test patterns and guides to help you optimally position the screen for long-term comfort, along with reminders to ensure you are taking appropriate breaks from your screen. The options include:

• Astigmatism – this test is viewed with your left hand covering your left eye, and then repeated with your right eye/hand. If some lines in the test pattern end up appearing greyer than others, it’s recommended you take a break.
• Amsler grid – if any of the lines on the grid appear wavy, blurred or distorted it’s a sign you need to take a break from your screen.
• Posture correction – a good viewing posture and position can help prevent neck and shoulder pain, with this feature guiding your adjustment of your monitor and seating position.

USB type-C connectivity

This connection is becoming more widely available in the monitor market, and it’s especially useful on monitors which are aimed at these kind of uses. It allows you to connect a laptop or other compatible device with a single USB type-C cable, which can then handle a video signal (via a feature called “DisplayPort Alt mode”), data transmission (like USB normally would) and also power delivery. This makes it really easy to connect and use a laptop from these monitors where USB type-C is included. Look out for the power delivery wattage which can influence what devices can be powered fully from the single cable, and via the monitor.

KVM Switch

Where available, this function allows you to control two connected systems with a single keyboard and mouse setup, which are connected to the monitor itself. This allows you to quickly and easily switch between two systems, like for instance a PC and a laptop, without needing two keyboards and two mice.

Display Kit application

This MSI-exclusive software provides a convenient tool to control your screen settings and profiles. It allows you to quickly and easily switch between preset and colour modes, arrange split screen windows, and offers additional on-screen features like a virtual keyboard if needed.

Tool-less assembly, stand functionality and VESA mounting

The Modern-series monitors all offer a tool-free assembly, where you can just click the stand in to place on the back of the monitor quickly and easily. Some of the screens include full-adjustable stands with tilt, height, swivel and rotate adjustments. Some are more simple tilt-only stands. If you want to wall- or arm-mount the screen, some models also support VESA mounting options.

PRO Series

MSI’s PRO series screens are designed to support activities like programming, coding and website design. They’re aimed at more professional applications and uses, offering a range of features designed to enhance user comfort and experience, without the huge price tag normally associated with “pro” grade monitors. They don’t offer the colour calibration and capabilities that some pro-grade screens offer from other brands, as they are more aimed at productivity applications and business use than photo editing and colour-critical work.

Here’s some models of note from the MSI PRO range:

MSI PRO MP275Q

The PRO MP275Q is a 27″ sized screen with a common 2560 x 1440 resolution. It’s built around an IPS technology panel for excellent all-round image quality and wide viewing angles, and this panel actually offers an increased 1300:1 contrast ratio, compared with typical 1000:1 contrast ratio IPS panels. It has a boosted 100Hz refresh rate too for smoother scrolling and overall user-experience compared with standard 60Hz-only office screens, along with a 10-bit colour depth and a standard sRGB colour gamut.

This model has a simple tilt-only stand, but this can be removed for VESA mounting if you prefer. There’s also a mount feature on the back of the screen as shown in the images above which allows you to mount a Cubi Series mini-PC on the back of the monitor and make it completely invisible from your viewing position.

The stand also offers an “accessory slot” on the base which allows you to easily store your phone in a convenient location, freeing up your hands and ensuring that your phone is always within sight and easy to access. EyesErgo technologies are included along with Eye-Q for enhancing user comfort, and you can control the screen using the MSI ‘Display Kit’ app. There’s DisplayPort and HDMI video connections along with a headphone jack, but note that this model does not include USB type-C or any USB data ports.

• You can buy the MSI PRO MP275Q from leading retailers here
• If you’re in the UK this model is on offer from Amazon for Black Friday, down from its normal price of £149 to £119 GBP.

MSI PRO MP273U

This is an alternative 27″ sized screen in their PRO range for those who want a higher resolution and pixel density, or a wide colour gamut. It’s got a very similar feature set and design, but the MP273U has a higher 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution and a colour gamut covering 98% DCI-P3. It’s built around an IPS technology panel like the 1440p model but this higher resolution offers a super-sharp and crisp image on a 27″ screen size, ideal for design work and office applications. Because this is a high resolution monitor (4K), the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz which can be driven over all the available video connections.

With its larger resolution, the MP273U can also support Picture in Picture (PiP) and Picture by Picture (PbP) modes, quickly and easily controlled using the MSI ‘Productivity Intelligence’ (P.I.) app.

This model also has a wide colour gamut covering 98% DCI-P3 and 93% Adobe RGB, equating to ~130% relative sRGB coverage. This makes it well suited to those who need to work with content or do photography in the wider colour spaces, beyond a standard sRGB-only screen. It also has a 10-bit colour depth, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 300 nits brightness.

Like the 1440p model discussed above, the MP273U has a simple tilt-only stand which can be removed in favour of VESA 75mm mounting if you’d rather. There’s mounting on the back for Cubi series mini-PC’s, the accessory slot on the foot of the stand and some slightly more powerful (than the MP275Q) 2x 3W integrated speakers.

EyesErgo technologies are included along with Eye-Q for enhancing user comfort, and you can control the screen using the MSI ‘Display Kit’ app. There’s DisplayPort and HDMI video connections along with a headphone jack, but note that this model does not include USB type-C or any USB data ports.

• You can buy the MSI PRO MP273U from leading retailers here
• If you’re in the UK this model is on offer from Amazon for Black Friday, down from its normal price of £199 to £159 GBP.

MSI PRO MP223 E2

The PRO MP223 E2 is a smaller sized screen for those who don’t have the space for the more common 27″+ sized screens available on the market today, or who are already using a smaller screen and are used to that size. It is also extremely competitively priced at only $69.99 USD (at the time of writing), making it a very affordable choice for home office setups or those who just want a simple screen for work.

It has a lower 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution as a result of its smaller screen size, and this model is built around a VA technology panel. The viewing angles are not as wide as the IPS panels on offer, but it does have a much higher contrast ratio and better black depth, having a 3000:1 contrast ratio spec.

This model has a boosted 100Hz refresh rate for improved fluidity and image clarity in desktop applications compared with 60Hz-only screens, along with a standard sRGB colour gamut. There are DisplayPort and HDMI connections, but this model is fairly simple in feature set with no USB-C or USB data ports and a simple tilt-only stand. VESA mounting (75 x 75mm in this case) is supported though if you want.

You can also mount a Cubi Series mini-PC on the back of the screen like on the larger 27″ PRO model discussed above.

The ‘accessory slot’ is also featured on the front of the stand, and the screen supports their Display Kit app. User comfort is a priority again with EyesErgo and Eye-Q Check technologies included.

• You can buy the MSI PRO MP223 E2 from leading retailers here
• If you’re in the UK this model is on offer from Amazon for Black Friday, down from its normal price of £69 to only £49 GBP.

MSI PRO MP161 E2 Portable Monitor

The PRO MP161 E2 is something different, it’s a 15.6″ sized portable monitor and we’re using one right now in fact connected to a laptop to offer a second screen. It’s a very thin and light screen, measuring only 1.08cm in thickness (0.4″) and weighing only 0.75Kg (1.65 lbs). We were surprised actually with how light and portable this screen is, easily slotted in to a backpack alongside your laptop without being too heavy or annoying to carry. This makes it a useful option to enhance productivity on the move, ideal for business professionals or those working remotely from a laptop. Day to day in our office we are used to using large format, high resolution screens to produce our content, and so when restricted to a smaller, lower resolution laptop screen having a second portable monitor has been really useful. You can also connect phones or maybe even portable games consoles to the screen when you’re away so you’ve got a larger screen to view.

It’s built around an IPS technology panel which offers a 1920 x 1080 resolution, although is somewhat limited in other specs given its portable nature with 800:1 contrast ratio, 53% sRGB gamut and 6-bit+FRC colour depth. It looks fine in practice with a sharp and clear image and not really looking that different from a standard ~sRGB gamut screen in typical office and desktop uses.

MSI EyesErgo and Eye-Q Check are included as well for user comfort like their other PRO monitors discussed in this article. The screen also has some simple 2 x 1.5W built in speakers for basic sound support, and you can also use their Display Kit app with it if you want.

The MP161 E2 includes useful features like a 1/4″ tripod socket for mounting on to a tripod stand. The built in stand allows for different angles of tilt adjustment between 0° ~ 180°, as well as allowing you to use the screen in both landscape and portrait mode depending on your requirements.

The included L-shaped cables for HDMI > Mini HDMI and USB-C help keep cables tidy and out of the way too. You can easily connect the monitor to a laptop with a USB-C connection which delivers the power and video signal to the monitor from a single cable. This makes it easy to plug and go.

• You can buy the MSI PRO MP161 E2 from leading retailers here
• If you’re in the UK this model is on offer from Amazon for Black Friday, down from its normal price of £119 to £79 GBP.

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Modern Series Models

The MSI Modern series is geared towards those users who value monitor aesthetics, offering a range of interesting design options to enhance your overall work setup. This includes unique designs, different colour schemes and thin profiles. Some models of note in this series include:

MSI Modern MD271UL

This high-end model won a Red Dot design and a CES innovation award in 2023 and has an elegant and sleek exterior design, with only a 1.17 cm (0.46”) thickness which offers a minimalistic look that can look great in any space and on any desk. It’s got an angled aluminium stand (tilt adjustment only) and a 3-side frameless design.

It’s a 27″ sized screen with a high pixel density 3840 x 2160 “4K” resolution, and is built around an IPS technology panel. This offers a super-sharp and crisp image on a 27″ screen size, ideal for design work and office applications.

This model also has a wide colour gamut covering 99% DCI-P3 and 95% Adobe RGB, equating to ~139% relative sRGB coverage. This makes it well suited to those who want to produce or view HDR content (typically DCI-P3), or do photography editing (typically Adobe RGB). It also has a 10-bit colour depth, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 300 nits brightness.

Because this is a high resolution monitor (4K), the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz which can be driven over all the available video connections. Of note is the USB type-C connection available here which supports DisplayPort Alt mode for video, data and 65W power delivery over a single connection.

• You can buy the MSI Modern MD271UL from leading retailers here
• If you’re in the UK this model is on offer from Amazon for Black Friday, down from its normal price of £259 to £209 GBP.

MSI Modern MD272QXPW

This model offers a fairly rare and unique white design aesthetic and has a minimalist look with a 3-side borderless design and 4-way adjustable stand with tilt, height, swivel and rotate adjustments. It won a Red Dot design award in 2021 in fact. This screen is 27″ in size with a flat format IPS technology panel and a 2560 x 1440 resolution, common on screens of this size. With the lower resolution than the MD271UL discussed above, it has a higher 100Hz refresh rate to enhance user experience and fluidity, even in desktop applications.

This model also offers a USB type-C connection (with DP Alt mode, data and 65W power delivery) for simple, single cable connectivity from compatible devices. It also includes a built-in KVM switch allowing you to use a single keyboard and mouse setup to control two different connected systems. Some basic 2x 3W integrated speakers are on offer too, and the screen includes support for both the MSI ‘Productivity Intelligence’ and ‘Display Kit’ applications, the former of which helps configure and control the KVM function.

• You can buy the MSI Modern MD272QXPW from leading retailers here
• If you’re in the UK this model is on offer from Amazon for Black Friday, down from its normal price of £229 to £169 GBP.

Conclusion

Hopefully that’s been a useful introduction to the MSI PRO and Modern series monitors. Like we said at the start, not everyone wants or needs a high end and expensive gaming monitor, and these ranges offer something more suited to general, office and business uses – at a much more affordable price point too. MSI are continuing to expand these ranges as well, with several models showcased at Computex and IFA 2024.

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